Milk Loaf

In an attempt to get my two young daughters to eat more home made bread instead of the super soft supermarket pap, I've been trying variations on the milk loaf from Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf. The fat in the milk helps make the crumb soft and the extra calcium is great for growing girls even though they already consume a reasonable amount of milk and yogurt. My first attempt was almost straight from the book:
250g strong white flour
250g plain flour
350g whole milk
20g maple syrup
25g unsalted butter
8g salt
5g dry yeast
I divided the dough into two balls, placed them both in the large 2lb tin and sprayed the top with water. I preheated the oven (non-fan) to 260C but turned it down to 240C when the loaf went in. I baked it for about 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes out of the tin.
The result was OK. I didn't get any oven spring but the loaf was quite soft. It was much tastier than any supermarket white loaf and fairly popular with my girls. The top of the loaf was very brown although not burnt.
My second go was similar but I used 100% strong flour just to see if it made a difference to the rise. Dan's recipe bakes the loaf at 210C (fan oven) for 15 minutes followed by 180C for 25-30 minutes. As my previous loaf had been very brown I decided to try this lower temperature. He also brushes the top with milk so I did this too.
This loaf was not a great success. The loaf didn't seem to be fully cooked after 45 minutes so it had to go back in the oven for longer. In the end it was in for about an hour - twice as long as the previous time. This meant the crust was quite thick. Also, when I brushed the top with milk it ran down the side. This meant the loaf stuck to the pan although I did eventually get it to come out. Again, the bread was edible but not as good as I would have liked.
For my latest attempt I made two loaves and decided to add some spelt flour in an attempt to make it more tasty - I normally like to eat wholemeal rather than white bread. I also increased the amount of flour per loaf as my tins are quite large. This time the recipe was (for two loaves):
900g strong white flour
200g wholemeal spelt flour
770g whole milk
44g maple syrup
55g unsalted butter
18g salt
8g dry yeast
In an attempt to get some decent oven spring I preheated the oven to 300C non-fan. I sprayed the tops with water instead of brushing with milk. On putting the loaves in the oven I turned the temperature down to 230C. After 25 minutes I tried to get the loaves out of their tins but struggled again. After a bit more time in the oven I managed to get them out but one loaf lost part of its crust as it was stuck fast to the tin.
Despite being damaged these loaves are a great success. They taste delicious - the little bit of spelt has really helped. There was a decent amount of oven spring and the crumb is lovely and soft. Most important of all I don't think I've seen my two girls enjoy my home made bread so much.
Next time I won't divide the dough into two balls - I think this is making the loaf stick to the pan as it sticks round the middle. I shall probably also try with more spelt and might also try rye or even wholemeal wheat, but the bulk of the flour will be white. At least I know there are no additives and the salt content is low.

Spelt bread for breakfast

So how was the spelt bread the morning after? It's been stored overnight like I store all my home made bread - in greaseproof paper in a bread storage bag in a bread bin. The crust is still quite hard to slice (probably due to it being baked for an hour) and the flavour is the same. I don't like it. This may be more to do with the seeds in the recipe so maybe I'll try it again without the seeds. It still isn't the right texture for bread - I much prefer my basic, almost wholemeal recipe which tastes great. My wife likes seeds in bread so she may like it. I doubt the children will though as it's too heavy.

3 minute spelt bread

On the bag for Gilchester Organics 100% Whole Spelt Flour is a recipe for Three Minute Spelt Bread. This involves no kneading and no leaving to rise. Could it possibly work? I was very sceptical but gave it a go.

The dough is nothing like for normal bread - in fact it's more like a rich cake mixture which you spoon into the loaf tin. It goes straight into the oven at 200C for an hour. Amazingly, after a few minutes it has risen. It doesn't look like normal bread - the rise is very uneven.

So what's it like? I tried it while still warm with butter. It's fairly heavy and is very nutty. I'm not sure if this is the spelt or the seeds in the recipe. It's more like a heavy cake than bread.

Would I make it again? I'm not sure - I'll have to see what it's like for breakfast.

The recipe linked to above is not very clear - it uses 500ml water. The recipe on the bag is right.